Understanding & Making Aligned Decisions: Your Authority in Human Design
One of the most powerful (and practical) aspects of Human Design is Authority.
Authority - How you’re designed to make aligned decisions
Your Authority reveals how your body is designed to make decisions that are correct for you - not how you should decide, not how you’ve been conditioned to decide, but how clarity naturally arises when you’re in alignment.
Growing up I was taught my very practical Capricorn father to make big decisions by making a list of Pros and Cons. I was taught decisions are meant to be practical and to use my mind to figure out life’s biggest decisions (like my first job). There was no instruction to feel into where the body or gut / heart might be leading me. This is no judgement of my father. He could not teach something he himself does not know and making decisions from the mind is our society’s go to mentality.
Indeed, most people are conditioned to decide from:
the mind
urgency
emotional discomfort
external pressure, or
what makes sense socially / societally
But, our authority actually lives below the mind
Our Authority is our deepest, most reliable signal available in our design.
Authority asks us - ‘Where is our consistent signal - not our loudest one?’
So it’s not about thinking harder - it’s about listening more accurately.
When we honour our Authority, decisions feel cleaner, regret softens and life begins to move with more ease.
Understanding Your Authority Begins with Understanding Definition
In Human Design, the way you’re designed to make decisions isn’t random - it’s a direct result of your definition.
Definition refers to which energy centres in your chart are consistently activated (defined - aka coloured in) and which are open to influence (undefined - the white centers in your chart).
Defined centres produce reliable, repeatable signals. Undefined centres are receptive, sensitive, and shaped by the environment and the people around you.
Your Authority emerges from this definition. It’s the part of your body that is most consistently “online” — the place where your inner truth can be trusted to guide decisions. This is why Authority never comes from the mind. The Head and Ajna are designed to think, imagine, and analyse - not to decide.
When we understand this, decision-making stops being about trying harder or thinking longer. It becomes about listening more accurately.
Understanding Your Blueprint - The Hierarchy of Authority (Why One Overrides Another)
Human Design follows a natural hierarchy based on impact and reliability.
Emotional Centre (Solar Plexus) - Yellow triangle
If this is defined, it overrides all other authorities and you are an Emotional Authority
Why? Because emotions distort perception in the moment. Clarity must come after the wave.
Sacral Centre (Orange Square)
If the Solar Plexus is undefined but the Sacral is defined: Sacral Authority
Why? Because the Sacral is life-force energy. It knows what has sustainable energy now.
Spleen Centre (Light Green Triangle on Left)
If Solar Plexus and Sacral are undefined, but the Spleen is defined: Splenic Authority
Why? Because the Spleen governs instinct, safety, and intuition in the present moment.
Heart / Ego / Will Centre (Darker / Smaller Green Triangle on right)
If the above are undefined but the Heart is defined and connected: Ego Authority
Why? Because willpower and desire become the most consistent inner signal.
G Centre (Self-Projected) (Turquoise Blue Diamond)
If none of the above are defined but the G Centre is connected to the Throat: Self-Projected Authority
Why? Because identity and direction express themselves through voice.
No Inner Definition → Environmental Authority
If none of the inner centres qualify: You are either Mental / Environmental Authority (Projectors) or Lunar Authority (Reflectors)
At this point, clarity is no longer internal - it’s relational, environmental, and temporal.
Here’s the Reframe
Your Authority is not something you need to develop. It simply IS.
And it is something you need to stop overriding.
When you understand your definition:
self-trust deepens
decisions feel less fraught
you stop forcing clarity
timing starts to make sense
And life begins to move with you, not against you.
As you can see in my chart above, I am an Emotional Authority (which 50% of people are). You know this because my solar plexus (the triangle in yellow at the bottom right) is defined (coloured in).
Take a look at the charts below. As you can see, the Manifesting Generator on the left has their Solar Plexus (Emotional center in yellow defined). The projector on the right is undefined in their solar plexus, sacral, spleen and their heart, but their G-centre is defined. This makes them a self-projected authority. They make decisions my speaking outloud and hearing their answer.
What is your Authority? Discern it from your bodygraph, or from the Human Design Overview I’ve provided in your blueprint.
Once you’ve identified your Authority, the sections below will help you understand your Authority - from where it lives in the body, how clarity actually arrives for you and how to work with it in everyday life.
When you stop overriding this inner guidance and begin to honour it, decisions feel less charged, less rushed, and far more aligned.
Take a look at your Blueprint and find your Authority - then review the relevant Authority type overview below to understand more about:
where your authority lives in your body (centres)
what decision-making feels like when aligned
reminders to support you
a short reflective practice
a mantra to anchor you
Emotional Authority
Centre: Solar Plexus (Emotional Centre)
≈ 50% of people
If you have Emotional Authority, clarity comes over time. You’re designed to experience emotional waves - highs, lows, and everything in between - before deciding.
In the moment, emotions can feel incredibly convincing. Urgency, intensity, certainty, doubt. None of these are wrong - but none of them are final.
Your wisdom emerges after the wave settles, not while it’s peaking.
Helpful reminders
Sleep on big decisions (often you’ll need more than one night)
Let emotional charge pass before committing
Look for consistency across time, not intensity in one moment
Urgency is a cue to pause, not act
Reflective practice
When a decision arises, ask yourself:
“How does this feel today — and how might it feel after a few sleeps?”
Track what remains steady as emotions shift.
Mantra
I am not the storm. The storm is not me.
Sacral Authority
Centre: Sacral Centre
≈ 30–35% of people
Sacral Authority is about in-the-moment gut response. Your body knows immediately whether something is correct for you - often before your mind catches up.
This response isn’t mental reasoning. It’s physical. Energetic. A clear yes or no.
Sacral clarity emerges through response, not initiation.
Helpful reminders
Ask yourself simple yes/no questions
Notice bodily signals: energy, excitement, resistance
If it’s not a clear yes, it’s a no (for now)
Let life bring things to you to respond to
Reflective practice
Ask your body:
“Do I have energy for this right now?”
Notice the immediate sensation — not the explanation.
Mantra
My body knows before my mind does.
Splenic Authority
Centre: Spleen Centre
≈ 8–10% of people
Splenic Authority is intuitive, quiet, and present-moment based. It often arrives as a whisper, a bodily sensation, or a subtle sense of safety or unease.
This knowing does not repeat itself loudly. It comes once - and then it’s gone.
The challenge is learning to trust what doesn’t shout.
Helpful reminders
Trust the first intuitive hit
Don’t wait for certainty to grow
Don’t override intuition with logic
You don’t need to justify your knowing
Reflective practice
When something arises, ask:
“What did I feel in my body in the very first moment?”
Practice honouring that signal.
Mantra
The whisper is the wisdom.
Ego / Heart Authority
Centre: Ego / Will Centre
≈ 1–2% of people
Ego Authority is about desire, will, and commitment. You’re designed to decide based on what you genuinely want - and what you have the energy to sustain.
This is not about proving yourself. It’s about honest self-commitment.
Helpful reminders
Ask yourself what you truly want
Honour your capacity and limits
It’s okay to want what you want
Don’t commit from obligation
Reflective practice
Ask:
“Do I genuinely want this - and am I willing to commit to it?”
Listen for truth, not justification.
Mantra
I choose what I desire, not what I should.
Self-Projected Authority
Centres: G Centre (Identity) connected to the Throat
≈ 1–2% of people
Self-Projected Authority finds clarity through speaking. You hear yourself into truth when you talk - not to receive advice, but to listen to your own voice.
Your direction reveals itself in sound.
Helpful reminders
Speak decisions out loud
Use safe, neutral spaces
Listen to how something sounds, not how it’s received
Your voice carries your truth
Reflective practice
Audio record yourself answering:
“What direction feels most like me?”
Play it back and notice what resonates.
Mantra
When it sounds right, it is right.
Mental / Environmental Authority
Centres: No inner authority (Projectors only)
≈ 2–3% of people
Mental Authority is influenced by environment and sounding boards. You’re not designed to decide internally or under pressure.
Clarity emerges when you’re in the right space, with the right people, and no urgency to conclude.
Helpful reminders
Change environments before deciding
Talk things through without pressure
Let insight emerge naturally
The space matters more than the answer
Reflective practice
Notice:
“Where do I feel most clear, calm, and like myself?”
Let decisions wait until you’re in that space.
Mantra
The right environment reveals the answer.
Lunar Authority (Reflectors)
Centres: All centres undefined
≈ 1% of the population
If you’re a Reflector, you have Lunar Authority.
You are not designed for quick decisions. Your clarity comes through time, reflection, and the lunar cycle - ideally allowing a full ~28-day moon cycle for major decisions.
Because you sample and mirror your environment, your perspective shifts over time. This isn’t indecision - it’s wisdom gathering.
Helpful reminders
Give yourself time - especially for big decisions
Notice what feels consistent across days and environments
Talk things through without pressure to conclude
Urgency is a sign to wait
Reflective practice
Over one lunar cycle, check in at different moon phases and ask:
How does this decision feel today?
Notice what remains consistent.
Mantra
Clarity unfolds in its own time.
A Final Reflection
There is no “best” Authority - only your Authority.
When you stop forcing decisions through the mind and start listening to the intelligence of your body, life doesn’t become perfect - but it becomes aligned.
And alignment has a rhythm of its own.
If you’d like help discovering your Authority, you can find it through your free Align to Thrive Blueprint here: annmariegrace.com/unique